The Fox and the Bear
by Jay110
Summary: The fox and the bear; What an unlikely friendship! How Thresh and 'Foxface' became allies, and grew to trust each other. Sure, they didn't have a romance like the 'Twelvies,' but their friendship is what brought them to the end. Rated T for violence.
1. Making Allies and Nicknames

Hey! This is my first story, so PLEASE, no flames, but advice is welcomed. This is my first fanfic, so advice would be very helpful. This was going to be a one-shot, but than I started typing WAY too much, and I had so much to add, so I decided to turn this into a story. This is in Autumn's (Foxface) POV, and it takes place a little while after the fire. I I get any deaths mixed up, or if I put one event in front of the other, please bear with me. I don't think I'll make a Thresh/Foxface romance, but I might if things go slow.

I'm also making an SYOT, but I plan to get that going soon. I wanted to try making a story, before I started the SYOT. It's called Paying The Price and it's the first Quarter Quell. So if you're bored, and you have character ideas, feel free to send one or two in!

Thank you for reading! Please review if you have some time!

-Jay

P.S- I do not own Foxface, Thresh, The Hunger Games, or any character. All belong to Suzanne Collins.

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><p><em><strong>I was Foxface, the quiet, sneaky, foxish looking girl from District 5 who was killed from eating Nightlock, and introduced the 12 Lovers to the berry that started a deadly revolution. I ate the Nightlock because Peeta 'out-foxed' me. It may have appeared so, but I know you can't out-fox the fox. I was known for my silent tricks by many. The games was the one that took my life.<strong>_

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><p>I sat in the field, playing with a stalk of grain, bored out of my mind. When you weren't fighting for your life, all you did was hide. That got pretty boring, and it can really make you feel like a coward. Than again, I would rather be a coward than a corpse. I heard some rustling, and my hand instantly flew towards the small dagger sitting next to me. I knew it was him by now; I learned his pace, and memorized the sound his feet made when he walked through our field. He was big, and not very quiet at that. I stood up, pointed dagger at him, and he raised his hands defensively, one holding a dagger a bit bigger than mine. He most likely knew how to use it, or at least how to do some damage with it. I wasn't even sure if I was holding mine right.<p>

Allies?" he said quickly and quietly. At the interviews, he didn't mutter more than a word. I eyeball him quickly, analyzing him. Is this some sort of trick? It didn't seem like it. For the next three awkward seconds, I stayed sitting, squinting at him, looking for some reason he would want to kill me. I wasn't a threat, but I clearly had more food than him, from stealing from the 3 Riches. (It's what I call the alliance of Districts 1, 2 and 4) He would be nice to have around, in case someone came wandering in the field armed. I never saw him kill anyone, but I can image he killed at least one person at the blood bath. He looked deadly, and I was scared.

Still holding my weapon tightly in my hand, even though it would be useless in a battle with this bulky boy, I stood up, still squinting. I was a little less than half the size of him. He must be 18, almost 19. I was almost 15, but tall and quick for my age. As I stood, he held his weapon a little closer to him, in case I would be brainless enough to strike. Never, have I ever, been called brainless. I may be on the weak side, and not the most outgoing or sweet, but I certainly wasn't brainless. I wonder if this guy was brainless. He didn't speak correctly sometimes, and he was from 11.

"Why would you want to be allies with me?" I spoke slowly. Really, this was an honest question. He could kill me off right then and there, and be one step close to home. Who wouldn't want to go home? Who would want to let someone else win, when losing meant death?

He shrugged. He looked bigger every time he moved, as if he was growing, or I was shrinking. By now, I was visually shaking a bit. Who wouldn't be terrified for their life with this monster standing in front of me? "Well," he said carefully, "You must be pretty smart. 'Cause you got all that food." He pointed to the pile of stolen berries and food behind me. It looked enough to last one, let alone two, people for awhile. I looked behind him, into his territory, and saw a club, some knives, and some water. He must've been hungry. I can't help but beam when he called me 'smart.' I like being smart. People respect you without fearing you. "And I seen you run. You quick. And, I think we'd make'a good team." I can't help but notice his grammar is a little off, but he's from 11, so it's not that bad. I lightened my glare a bit. true, he wasn't scared of me, but he was scared for his life. Everyone has their fears. I can't help but pity him a bit, and lower my dagger. It's almost funny how anyone could pity Mr. 11. He's got a pretty good chance at winning. I can't even use a weapon. Even if I knew how, it's not like I could use it; I could never kill anyone. Stealing and lying were easier than killing. You can't give someone's life back to them after taking it.

Suddenly, the big guy didn't seem so big anymore. Still, I wouldn't take advantage of that. I smile softy a bit, and motion my hand towards the food, and watch his eyes get a little bigger. "Allies." I said simply. I get this happy feeling inside as I see his face light up at the word. I guess I don't regret anything when I see him look like he was on the verge on hugging me. I felt a pang of feeling when we both drop our weapons at the same time without planning it. He runs towards the food, and who cares if he eats it all; I could always get more. I was a bit surprised when he just hungrily pick up a large apple from the Riches and takes a monster bite out of it. It must taste like home to him, as he smiles lightly while chewing.

"Name's Thresh." he said, swallowing the apple chunk. "You're..." he asks, waiting for me to continue his sentence.

"Autumn." I say, nodding.

"Like the season?" Thresh asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Yeah. I was born in autumn, so my parents named me that." I shrug.

"I like it." Thresh smiled, looking up at the sky, taking a smaller bite of the apple. "It reminds me of home."

It takes me a second to realize why 'autumn' would remind him of home. In District 11, autumn is the time when they work the most. Harvesting, planting, you name it, they were doing it. All through the night and day. I feel a pang of gratefulness, because we didn't have to work nearly as hard as them. In fact, in District 5, you really don't do anything until your 19- old enough to work on mutts. I can image that Thresh had been working all his life, along with his little companion. It's a wonder how she's still alive... Her and both the District 12 tributes. Then again, the Twelvies might've gotten sponsors from the little drama scene they put on at the interviews. You should've seen District 2 faces when the boy declared his love for the girl! If they weren't about to go into an arena with me to kill me at the time, I would've laughed.

We talked about ourselves for the next few minutes, and for once, I felt nice, because I had someone to talk to. I was always one that could never be bored for long, so having someone to talk to made things more bearable for me. Thresh seemed pretty happy about having a buddy too. Why wasn't he helping the little girl? Did he figure she wouldn't make the first day? He seemed to talk highly about her when he talked about the train ride. Her name is Rue, and he says it's a little yellow flower. He's glad she made it this far, but he- and the rest of us- know the girl tribute from District 11 isn't going to be the victor of the 74th Hunger Games.

I disliked my district partner- he was big and dumb. Not as big as Thresh, but pretty bulky for someone from district 5. He didn't know left from right! He thought very highly of himself. What was so great about Adam Bronz? He wasn't memorable, and he didn't know a lot about weapons. He was 16, and he died in the blood bath. Tried to fight Temper Tantrum from District 2. That's what I call him. I tell that to Thresh, and he laughs, and calls him that with me. I was always one to give nicknames to people, because most times, their names wouldn't fit who they are. And honestly, I don't give a crap about the names of the people who are trying to kill me.

We come up with nicknames for some of the tributes still in the games. The girl from District 12 is Fire Girl, and the boy Doughboy. We called him that because he always smelt like bread, and his name was some kind of bread, but we forgot. Whole Wheat? Rye? Together, they are the Twelvies. One Leg is the name of the boy from 10, because of his leg. He wasn't going to last very long. I wonder how he made it this far! Mermaid is what we call the girl from District 4, because she looks like she could be one. Then there Short-Stuff from 3, Temper Tantrum and his girlfriend from 2, and the Blondies from 1. He says I have a fox looking face, all pointed and stuff, I was a red-head, and I was sly and quick. He elbows me and calls me 'Fox,' and I let the name sink in.

"Not bad..." I say slowly. "Sounds cool. It fits pretty well." I accept the nickname, beaming a bit. Foxes are smart and cool, and so was I. They were quick, and so was I. It's more of a compliment then an insult, and it fits me more than 'Autumn.' That's the beauty of nicknames.

Thresh looks a bit like a bear to me, I tell him, and he likes that too. He says it fits well, and it's a compliment. Thresh is more like a friendly bear, who just wants a friend. He ma look scary, but he's really nice. Nice to have around.

So; The fox and the bear. Two unlikely friends. The Hunger Games can do some strange things to people. Make strange friends of people, drive people crazy, and now, cause romances. If the Hunger Games didn't kill people, or make them go crazy, I'd almost say they were a good thing. Too bad they aren't.


	2. Going to the Riches' Camp

_Chapter 2! I hope to have the next chapter up tonight, or tomorrow. Thanks for reading and reviewing! Enjoy!_

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><p>Since Thresh and I became allies when the sun was just starting to set, we both decided that neither of us wouldn't need to take watch, because no one has come into the fields yet. I like sleeping in the fields because it was soft, and quiet. Most of the other tributes headed for the main part of the arena, which was the forest. I bet the gamemakers made the fire there to drop some players. I don't think I heard a cannon go off, but there have had to be some injuries. It would almost be funny if Fire Girl died in the fire. Almost.<p>

It was early in the morning, and the sun was just starting to rise. I realized we were running low on water, so I told Thresh I would go get some in the forest. The only flaw I could think of about the field, is that there wasn't any water nearby. Luckily, from stealing from the Riches' alliance, I knew a spot where there was water we could drink. Too bad they set up camp right next to it. I guess I would have to wait until they left to go hunting. I told Thresh I may not be back until later, so he better not come looking for me. Thresh simply nods his head and says he might go hunting today. I grab some empty bottles, and a bag to hold things. I throw on my jacket I used as a blanket last night, and I wave goodbye to Thresh. He waves back, and I realized he was more than simply an ally; He was a friend.

So, I start walking out toward the forest, making sure I don't make any noise. Most tributes are sleeping right now, because its so early. I wake up early on a regular basis, just by habit. I bet Thresh does too, because he always has to work early mornings. The only person I could imagine being awake is The Little Flower Girl... What was her name? Thresh will mention her later. For now, I'll call her Flower. She was little and sweet looking like a flower. Pretty for her age too, with long dark hair, and dark eyes. If she finds Thresh and me, no doubt we'll let her in our alliance. I can't hurt Rue, and I can bet she can't kill anyone. I guess not many people can kill someone.

It takes awhile to get to where the Riches' lake is, so I look around to see if any other tributes set up a camp with things I can steal. I come across a small camp, with One Leg sleeping, looking awfully worried. I pity One Leg a lot. He's never going to win. I don't even know how he got out of the blood bath! He has to live his last days worrying for his life. Then again, 23 of us do. There can only be one winner.

I weigh my options. I could steal something from him, and feel awful about it, or figure he's going to die anyway, and take something, or leave him alone. I'm about to walk away, when something red and black and shiny catches my eye. They look like sunglasses, but they don't look like any type I've seen before. Curious, I sneak over next to One Leg's sleeping body, shivering a bit from the cold of morning. I pick up the glasses and put them on my face. They didn't do anything, but blur my sight. I decide to keep them anyway, in case I find out they're used for something else. I put them in my bag I brought with me. I feel my stomach vibrate, and I can't help but pick up a bag of berries that was lying next to the glasses. I take a handful, and eat them. They were a dark blue, and they tasted sweet. I look back down at One Leg for a minute, and he shivers some more. I sigh, feeling guilty, and move the jacket lying next to him over his body. He shifts for a second, but than his eyes jolt awake. His hand flys for a dagger, and by then, I'm already gone.

Ok, I admit, I'm a bit of a coward when it comes to fighting. I don't like to fight! Stealing is one thing, lying is another, but hurting and killing? I could never. Something tells me that One Leg would've only hurt me if I tried to kill him, but than again, you could never be too careful.

I finally make it to a spot where I can see the Riches' camp, but not be too close. I don't see any bodies; except for Short Stuff from 3. His District partner may or may not be dead, and she wasn't too memorable. It must be awful to die in the blood bath as an unmemorable tribute. If I die here, I want at least someone to remember me. What's Short Stuff doing? It looks like he's working with wires or something right next to pile of stuff the Riches' own. Boy, do they have a lot. I try to think of who is part of the alliance. There's Blondie Boy and Blondie Girl from District 1, and then there Temper Tantrum from 2. We call the girl from 2 his girlfriend, because they always seemed to be together. Training, Chariots, they were even back to back when they were killing at the bloodbath. Sure, I didn't see too much of the bloodbath because I was there and gone so fast, but they defiantly have some sort of secret alliance going on. Sure, they may not be in love or anything, but they seem inseparable. _It might actually come down to the two of them. Autumn! Don't think like that. You're going home! Not some rich guy with an anger problem, or some girl who throw knives at everything. Can she even use any other weapon?_ The boy from District 4 died in the bloodbath, so I don't have to worry about any wannabe Finnick Odair tying to kill me off. And last, there was Mermaid, who wasn't that memorable.

What was Shortie doing here? It looked like he was playing round with some wires and explosives from one of the mines in a platform. He was from District 3, so he most likely knew what he was doing. Too bad I didn't know what he was doing. It looks like he putting the mines in the ground to protect their food and supplies. Or, so when the Riches came near, they'd be blown to bits. Short Stuff doesn't seem like he'd had the guts to blow them up. He was probably working for them. I wouldn't work for them; They are only going to use you as much as the can, and then kill you off once your job is done.

After awhile of studying Shortie, he steps back from the mines, hooks up a wire, and jumps back. He beams, proud of himself. Then he does some crazy dance to get to the food. I watch where his feet land. There's no grass where his feet land! That's how you get across! He does the dance back across, with a berry in hand, and eats it, Then falls asleep, in between the lake and the camp.

_Let's hope he's a deep sleeper._


	3. Take it and Run

_Be quiet, Foxgirl._ I tell myself. I call myself 'Foxgirl' because it fits more at the moment than Autumn. _Don't wake up Shortie. If you do, no doubt he'll send his buddies to kill you. Or worse, he'll kill you. Then Thresh will come after you an get himself killed! Then a dumb Rich will win the Games again._

I look down at the ground in front of me, seeing the little grass less spots where you put your feet to get across. I can't help but grin widely, because this was going to be a lot easier than I thought! I could feel the ends of my mouth stretch across my face, and I cold sense my eyes were squinting. They always do when I smile, and I like that. It makes me look happy, but also still fierce.

I remember when Adam saw me smile because I got a good time running in training. He said "When you smile," I looked up at him, thinking he actually turned nice. I start smiling a bit. "You look like you are plotting to kill someone." Then he flipped his greasy hair, laughed at his own joke, and walked away as my smile faded into a deathly glare.

Bitch. I'm glad he died in the bloodbath. Then again, didn't he have a family back home? Maybe brothers and sisters, and parents. They loved him, because they were family. Maybe he even had a girlfriend who was dopey enough to love him. At least I didn't kill him. That would make me feel worse than ever. I don't know how people kill in the arena! Not only are you sick, hurt, homesick, tired, and fighting for your life, but if you kill someone, then you're guilty too. I hope to be Autumn 'Fox' Celard, the first victor who didn't kill anyone! Too bad that can't happen. I either lose, or kill at least one person. I wish I hadn't been reaped to begin with.

I place my first foot down on a safe area, and I almost expect to be blown to bits. If I was wrong, I was also dead. I put weight on my foot, full of worry, but I am not killed. I sigh in relief, and step down on the next safe spot. Still alive. The next 3 steps are easy, and then I leap across to the pile. Times like this, I'm happy I'm smart, and not brawny. I grab 3 filled water bottles, and put them in my bag. I find a match pair of sunglasses that are already in my bag, so I take them, in case Thresh would need a pair for some reason. I grab a small pouch of berries, and some burn cream. Why burn cream? So they Riches' don't have it.

I turn around, and I almost forget that I'm surrounded by land mines. Luckily, I stop dead in my tracks, seeing the sleep Shortie, right before I step into my death. I carefully step on the safe spots I did before, a little faster than last time. It was almost like a dance if you stepped right and fast enough. I make it to the other side, and from looking at the 3 water bottles in my bag, I figure I wouldn't need to fill up the other two. I'm about to walk away, when a cannon sounds, and Shortie flys awake, and almost instantly makes eye contact with me. He sees I'm holding a bag, and I'm left to wonder if he guessed it was full of the Riches' supples. He did surround them with mines, so he may not have thought I could've gotten in there.

I start to back away, my hand fumbling for the knife in my bag. Trying to get it, it cut my hand on the blade. I wince in pain, and keep backing away from Shortie, who looks even more scared than me! He stands up, and is a little shorter than me. He might be the same age as me. He opens his mouth to say something but then, of all times, I hear war crys off in the distance, no doubt the Riches. I turn around and start to run as fast as I can, hand dripping with blood, but I don't turn back. I simply keep running. In a moment, I realize that the crys were not war crys, but they were screaming "To the lake! To the lake!" Thank god I didn't stop to refill my empty water bottles, or I would've died without a doubt. I hear screaming and yelling, but I keep running. I hear another cannon. Who was it? One Leg? Fire Girl? Doughboy?... Thresh?

Please don't die, Thresh. Don't die. I need a friend here! You deserve to live! Don't let that be your cannon.

I don't think it was Thresh, but he did say he was going hunting. What if he died? What if he's hurt? What if he's dying? The possibilities are endless. This just helps me run faster and faster.

I'm almost to the field, my hand stings like hell, and feels numb with pain. I went the wrong way before, so I had to turn around and head back the other way. I had to find a route where I wouldn't meet up wit One Leg again. Really, I'm more of a short-distance kind of girl. I'm coughing, and I'm tired. I'm about to take a break, when I see someone running towards me. Why now? I'm exhausted, worried, and in pain. Maybe this is why I don't like to fight- The possible pain. I'm too tired to move, so decide to let the person running towards me do their worst. I close my eyes and lean against the tree, the heavy bag slung around my shoulder. I'm breathing fast and deep, and I can hear my own heart pounding against my chest. This is why I'd rather run short distances, and walk long distances. At least I'm still alive... Unless that person trys to kill me. Oh to heck with it! Let them do their worst. I don't want to be in the Hunger Games.

"Autumn?" I hear a familiar voice say. My eyes jolt awake,surprised and thrilled. Thresh could not have picked a better time to disobey me and come looking for me. Honestly, I'm mad, but overjoyed at the same time. It's funny, really, because I've never felt two opposite emotions at the same time. It feels very strange actually, like one emotion is trying to fight the other off. Well, in this case, happiness was winning the battle of emotions. Thresh was okay, and I'm okay. I have no idea who died, though, and that would've been helpful to know.

I stay frozen for a moment. Since I've began to catch my breath, I managed to lower my heart rate. My hand still hurts, but if I don't focus on the pain, it doesn't hurt so much. Maybe that's how the past victors won the games! They were too busy focusing on their lives, to feel the pain so much. Sure, it hurts, but it hurts a lot more when you think about it.

"Autumn? That's a pretty name."

Holy crap. Someone's out there! The voice was young sounding, though. But what if it was a career playing a trick? I grab my knife, and hold it out in front of me, clueless of where the voice came from. It could even be a mutt! There's nothing that scares me more than mutts. Especially tracker jackers! I remember when I was 7 when I walked into my father's lab (he tests on mutts) because I was bored. You can't blame me; There were so many cool looking things he brought in there. Turns out, he was working on making a tracker jacker fly faster, and it saw me, and flew right towards me, and stung me in the shoulder. Never, will I ever forget the pain I went through for the next 4 days. Since I was young, I could've died. If I died, I wouldn't be here, in the Games. But who was this person, claiming my name was pretty?

Thresh dropped his club. What the heck? Is he giving himself up to the killer? He's smiling._ Has he lost his freaking mind?_ I give him a confused look and whimper, and he blows me of completely! What was going on? Was I about to die? Was he about to die? Anything could happen at any moment, and I was clueless.

I hear some leaves behind us start to shift. I turn around, expecting Temper Tantrum, and his evil girlfriend, both grinning blood thirsty faces. Who do I see? A little girl, maybe 11 or 10 years old, with dark hair, dark skin, and a grinning face. I drop my knife on the ground. The little girl runs over to Thresh and gives him the biggest hug! They could easily pass for brother and sister. I had, maybe 6 inches on her, but Thresh was HUGE next to her. Still, they looked sweet. Maybe a little sweeter than the fox and the bear: friends for life and possibly death.

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><p><strong>You like? You don't like? Review! Thanks for reading!<strong>


	4. A Perfect Painting

_I'm SO sorry for the delayed update! I was having troubles with my computer, and I had to keep re-typing this chapter. Everything's all fixed now, and I hope to be updated this weekend, if not, by next week. I been having a lot of tests and homework latly, so I haven't had much time to write._

_Once again, thanks for reading, and PLEASE review! Sorry again for the late update!_

_-Jay_

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><p>I glad that we've added Rue to the alliance, because not only have we've gotten information about what's going on in the forest, but Thresh has been happier since she got here. I don't think I've ever seen him this happy before. Screw that, I <em>know<em> I've never seen Thresh happier. Sure he was glad when we became allies, but Rue must be really important to him. Perhaps they've known each other before the were reaped. The only worry I have about Rue is that when numbers get low, they might break off the alliance, or worse, eliminate me from the games. Then again, Thresh or Rue aren't really the type to back stab.

About the information Rue gave us about the forest... There's mutts in the arena. Yes, mutts. Already. Personally, I think it's a little early in the game to be killing off careers with tracker jackers. I hope the audience thinks that too, because the last thing I need is to be face to face with a mutt. I know it's pathetic, being from District 5, but I have the worst fear of mutts. Actually, it's pretty common to be scared of mutts in District 5. Imagine all your life being exposed to monsters, witnessing accidents and attacks first hand, fearing for your own safety when you go to school. Yeah. I bet you'd be pretty scared too. Too bad I'm a naturally jumpy kid. Sly, but jumpy with fear. Sometimes I think I see something in the mirror, only to turn around to see plain air, while my chest moves in and out. I have a pretty good imagination, which is why my teachers are always pushing me to take over my fear of mutts. You see, once your 19, you're divided into two groups. The ones who will be scientists, making mutts, experimenting, and all that stuff. The other group is the jumpy bunch, who have a fear of mutts. They are sent out to whatever District is lacking population, that's relievtly close to 5. Mostly, people go to 6, 7, and if your lucky, 4. I remember one year when sickness hit 4, killing a lot of future careers, and someone was actually reaped from 4. It was 5 years ago, and the girl ended up winning because an earthquake broke something in the arena and there was a flood. If you ask me, she got lucky. She went insane after that, and I haven't heard from her so much since her games. Sure, I was able to glance at her when I saw her mentoring the District 4 tributes, but that's about it. She was pretty, with long wavy dark hair, tanned skin from the beach, and an innocent face. One of her tributes were killed in the bloodbath, and according to Rue, Mermaid just died because of a tracker jacker attack, along with Blondie Girl. My mentor was decent, maybe 31, but she striked me as... Weird. She resembled a bird, with long feathery hair reaching her knees, with a pointed face, and skinny figure. Her name was Renigan. She won by going insane, and killing everyone on the 3rd day. It was recorded to be the shortest Hunger Games ever. She was smart, but very arrogant and know-it-allish. Adam seemed to like her, but than again, my District partner was not so smart.

Rue was very sweet, like the flower that Thresh described to me that she was named after. He said they're were a lot of them in southern District 11, by District 12. Sadly, I can't say the same thing about center District 5. We don't have much wildlife around here, mostly just big labs and factories and buildings. The whole world seemed like it was adark grey color. Our school uniforms were dark grey, as people got older, they became dark grey, the skys were dark grey, and I hated dark grey. I always loved the color of the tip of the fire, where it burns the least, and looks the coolest. I guess it's hard to tell if it's orange or yellow, but whatever it is, it's my favorite color.

I truly feel bad for little Rue. Poor, young, scared; She's a lamb waiting to be slaughtered. I'm glad she got to see Thresh and everything, but now that he's saw her again, her death is going to hit him harder than I ever thought. Sure, there's always that question "What if Rue lives?" but as much as I would like to think that, I highly doubt that would ever happen. You see, I look much at logic, and don't do much 'hoping.' I look at the odds, and determine if they are in my favor. Sadly, it's obvious they aren't in Little Flower's. Then again, who am I to be talking? Someone like Thresh or Cato is going to win. I can dream all I want of going back home, killing no one through out the games, but that almost impossible. Sure, there's the word 'almost,' but almost isn't good enough.

The grey clouds of the arena slowly start to hover over the fake sky. I wonder how they did it, really. How they made everything look so... Authentic. I bet they make it pretty so the tributes forget they are about to die for a minute, only to wake up to reality. Let me tell you, I would rather stay awake my whole life, they wake up from an amazing dream to only look around and find hell. I guess the Game makers must've thought of this logic. They wouldn't make it wonderful so the tributes could forget their troubles: They made them so they could remember where they were once they wake. I'd wonder what it would be like to be a bloodbath, like Mermaid's partner, or Adam. Did it go quick? Did they feel any pain? What was the last emotion they felt? I bet it was a mix of fear, confusion, guilt, and humility. Sort of like what I'm feeling now. I'd hate to die in the games, because I was forced to, just to die without a person remembering me. People don't remember who was killed; they remember who is the killer. I've seen the games every year, and I can hardly remember the Victor's names, let alone the deceased's names. Then again, I'm not good with names. That's why I always make nicknames for people; They fit better than the names their parents gave them. Think about it. What name fits better for me. Autumn, or Foxgirl?

Rue is peacefully sleeping, protected in Thresh's strong arms, yet being held so gentle. It reminds me of a beauful painting, that breaks all laws of common sense. Someone so big and scary looking could never be so gentle with a child, so delicate, yet so strong. They're bond is almost unbreakable, and I'm sorry to say that the Game makers found the crack. Perhaps they made a crack instead of finding one. I offered to watch for the night, because Rue needs her rest, and I told Thresh I wouldn't be sleeping tonight anyway. So that's how we eneded up with the beautiful, impossible, painting, sitting in front of me in the Hunger Games. Sure, the gams are inhuman, mean, and plain horrible, but they can actually do some almost good things. Little good things, that don't last very long, but they're still good. The painting of a cloudy sky, gorgeous, but fake, above a wise, but stupid, fox looking girl, who is watching over a bear protect a flower. I bet the aren't even showing this on TV right now. They are probably watching someone run for their life, as they sprint away from a pack of blood thirsty careers. I guess that's what the country likes that stuff, more than looking at human art. It's sad really, and I have o admit, I liked the Hunger Games when I was young, and the gore, rather than the beauty. Time turns us into monsters, it seems like.

I really need a walk. Whenever I would get confused, or 'thinky,' I would take a walk, and in about an hour, I'd be all better. It's dark, and late, so I doubt any tribute will be out hunting, so I should be safe if I don't walk far. Sure, I'm not one for taking risks, but I'm defiantly one for knowing my needs and wants. It wasn't raining, and it wasn't that cold, so I should be fine.

I tapped Thresh on the shoulder lightly, not wanting to wake him all the way. He stirred about and inch, and opened his brown eyes a bit, looking at me. Rue stayed silent, her chest moving in and out, while she was taking little breaths. I just noticed Thresh's eyes have a bit o green in them, almost like a tint. Funny, I've never seen that before. It's a nice color.

"I'm going to take a quick walk, I'll be back in bit." I whispered to Thresh. I could tell he wanted to object, but he saw nothing wrong with it. He took a deep breath, nodded his had a bit, and closed his eyes, continuing to sleep. I bent over and kissed Rue on top of the head, and whispered good bye to Thresh. I mean, you have to make every good ye count. I could come back to a pile of bones.

I start to walk outside of the field, just along the edge, in the grassy area between the forest and the field. I saw pretty much nothing until it almost hit me in the face. Sure, people said I had 'dog senses,' but my eye sight was really crappy. Mostly in the dark. That doesn't matter now, because I don't think any tribute would be out here at this hour. I wonder what they are doing now? Most likely sleeping, or keeping guard. What were they thinking now? Do they honestly think they are going home? There's over a 90% chance your going to die, so you would have to be really confident to think about going home. Maybe I will go home, I don't quite know yet. Maybe when numbers get lower and I can outlive everyone.

Suddenly, I heard a leaf crumble breath neath the earth, coming from behind me. I stopped abruptly, and grabbed the dagger in my bag, holding it out in front of me. I didn't hear anything after that, so I hesitantly put down the dagger to my side, and continued walking. I think I should head back to Thresh and Rue now. I pick up the pace, breathing faster, telling myself over and over that I'm not scared.

I make it to the edge of the field, not so far from camp, and I can't help but stop and smile and laugh to myself. Nothing had been chasing me after all. It was all my imagination. Silly Autumn! Who would be chasing you? You're such a coward!

I start walking into the field, when something barks. Immediately, I start to run, but it's no use. Whatever is behind me jumps, snarling into the air, and sinks it's claws into my back. The claws aren't so long, but long enough to make me scream._ Damn it Autumn! Don't scream! Now someone is going to find you!_

The creature pulls me down, pinning me to the ground in one swift motion, knocking the wind out of me. I feel the blood dripping from my back, and a bruise starting to form. The pain hurts so much! Along with mutts, I fear pain. So, right now, you can imagine, I was not exactly having fun.

The creature drools unto my face, snarling happily and proudly. It has to be a mutt! Too bad I can't see what it is. Thank god it's not a tracker jacker. Then, as if on cue, my dagger blade reflects the moonlight unto the creature's face who is on top of me, and I let out a gasp. It's so predictable for the Game makers to do something like this, it's surprising.

It's a fox.

I take a quick glance again as the fox-mutt smiles a toothy mischievous grin. It's not just any plain fox. It's fur is a reddish blonde color, wit a white face and body. It's ears are larger than normal foxes, and it's nose is pointed a bit more. It's eyes are squinted, but I can easily tell they are a blue so dark, it looks black. It's bigger than a normal fox, adn it almost seems to be laughing. I take another glance at the eyes, and start screaming as loud as I can. For anyone! Thresh, Rue, _anyone!_

I am fighting a mutt version of _myself._


	5. You Never Know Pain Until You Feel It

_Thank you so much for the long review, Justyouraveragehuamn! Actually, in the book it says Katniss was in a coma for a couple days after she got stung. I really wanted to add Rue, so that's why. Thanks again for the long review, and for reading! _

_I'm SO sorry for the delayed update! Thanks for reading, I worked really hard on this chapter! Thanks!_

_-Jay_

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><p>The mutt snarls, drooling cold, wet, slimy spit unto my shivering face, bleeding from mutt bites that burned like acid. I've been screaming without stopping since the fox had planted it sharp claws into my back, but no one has come to save me. At this point, it was useless to scream, but everything hurt so bad, it was instint to scream. My shirt was ripped and the dark green color was turning a bright red, but the gashes weren't deep enough to hit any artieries. Too bad it still hurts a hell of a lot. Everytime I try getting up to flee, the injuries hurt with pain that I didn't think was even possible. I can't believe through all this, thinking about the pain, shivering, and fearing for my life, I've managed to scream so loud without stopping, and that no one has heard me. Please Thresh, where are you? My throat feels tight and cold, but I know if I stop screaming, I'm done for. I'm done for anyway, but there's still a glimmer of hope if I keep screaming. Then again, what if someone else hears me screaming, and decided to kill me off? I'm done for. Well this is a great situation to be in, huh?<p>

The mutt fox, with one swift movement, swipes it's enlarged paw across my face, and rips my skin open like old fabric. My screaming gets louder, and I kick and punch at the fox, but it's no use whatsoever, with every punch I throw, the fox hits me back harder. It's like the fox is trying to make my death as slow as possible. Screw the Gamemakers! I hope they all die as painfully as their vitims. The fox barks, and it plants it claws into my shoulders, before leaping off of me unto something else. You see this as a perfect oppertunity to get up and run, don't you? Really, I would think the same thing, if I wasn't in so much pain. I wish I would just freaking pass out already! Have you ever had a really bad day, and just want to end it by going to sleep? Well, this was the same kind of thing. Sadly, it's almost as if the Gamemakers made sure they could not grant me with the luxery. So, I just lie there, bawling my eyes out, and screaming at the same time. Don't you dare call me a wimp for crying! I don't know how some people on TV just act all dramatic, instead of crying, during a painful death. I guess part of the reason that I was feeling so much pain, is that I've never experianced much of it in my life. I guess I've never really worked in my life all night like Thresh or Rue, or straved like someone from 12, or trained all my life for this moment. I'm just... Average, I hate to say. Normal compared to all the kids I'm trying to kill. Kids... That's all we really are, at heart. Just naive, immautre, innocent kids, being soiled and ruined by these horrible games.

I close my eyes, my bleeding stomach moving upward and downwards. I finally stopped screaming, but I'm still weeping like a 6 year old. Pathectic. I must look truly pathectic. At least I can't help it! I'm just lucky this was only one mutt! Useally, they attack in packs. I can't help but think this is just a test for a larger, scarier mutt in the future. I was just a test subject for diaster. Or, I was just over thinking things, like I always do. My fatal flaw is how my father descirbed it. He said that itstead of jumping into things, I think it over forever. He said this could be good and bad. But what my father says doesn't matter right now.

I hear a scream of an animal, and then a thud of the groud, maybe 10 yeards away from me. Everything is starting to get blurry, and everything seems to be shifting back and forth. It was making me sick to my stomach. In the distance, I heard Thresh calling out for Rue. I would know his voice anywhere. I couldn't make out what his emotions were, though. Everything was spinning slowly, and all I heard was myself crying. The pain seemed to be the only thing I felt, as it numbed my body sore. Everything seemed chaotic to me, and I can only guess whoever was around me. I guess it must have been Thresh and/or Rue, because I didn't feel a spear through my body yet. As if that would compare to this.

I feel little hands grip me from under my arms, and start to drag me away. Who? I don't know. Where? I don't know. What direction? I don't know. All I know is that I must look like a wimp. This is most likely nothing compared to being stabbed at with a knife. You never know how much pains hurts, until you've experianced it. Trust me, you don't want to.

Suddenly, my eyes snap open to bright sunlight. Weird, I don't remeber passing out, all I remeber was thinking to myself. What was I even thinking to myself about? Death? When I died, I didn't see any ray of light that I had to look away from, and I never remembered darkness taking over. I felt the pain the whole way through. My eyes fluttered, protecting my salt-stinging eyes from the new found brightness. I hear someone sigh in relief. What had even happened? Where was I? I'm in the Hunger Games... I'm alive... And I was attacked by a mutt. I felt a bandage around my face, over the brige of my nose, wrapping around my head. I felt more fabric aound my stomach., and it felt a little damp. I felt air rushing up my throat, and I let out loud, sickly, dry cough. My previosuly lifted head fell to the ground, while my eyes shut closed.

I heard something next to me stir, but than remain back to silence. I opened my eyes, in attempt to get up again. Everything feels tight and shakey, but I keep on going. This was nothing campared to being attacked by a mutt. I lift my head up again, and my eyes focus on a giant green and black lump about 6 feet away from me. The dark green of our Hunger Games uniforms, and dark skin. I also saw some red in there. Was Thresh dead? I stare at the lump, thinking of the worst thing that could've happened.

"Thresh?" I gasp with a raspy voice, desperate for an answer.

As if he was never asleep, Thresh sprung awake, eyes wide. I couldn't tell if it were with excitment or suprise, but he definatly saw me. He scamperd over to me as fast as he could.

"Autumn! You're awake!" He said excitedly. There was something in his voice I couldn't make out... Where is Rue? I didn't see her. The spark of joy in Thresh's eyes that was presant when Rue was around wasn't there. All I saw was the hazel-green color. It was hazel, maybe darker than a normal hazel, that got lighter as it got to the edge of the eye, which was a grass green. Rue's eyes were black, or maybe they were dark brown, and large, filled with innocence. Her innocence wa shattered when her name was called that reaping day. It was taking a small yellow flower, and trying to choke someone with it.

"Autumn... You still there?" Thresh looked worried as he waved his hand over my face. I snapped back to harsh reality and lookd him in the hazel green eyes. I had a feeling I would regret this...

I slowly open my mouth, "Is Rue...-"

Thresh looks away the second I say 'Rue.' I hear him hold back a sob, as he says quikly, "No. She's not dead." he pauses, as I stare at him. Do I even bother with the next question? Where is she?

As if he can read minds, he turns towards me, with glass eyes, and says slowly, "She had to leave... For her safty." I can tell in his face he is trying to convince himself he did the right thing.

"Wait...Did you make her leave... or did she just leave...or-"

He looks at me harshly, and barks, "I made her leave, okay? She's gone, back into the woods. It's safer there."

A-more-awkward-than-awkward silence follows that. Honestly, I'm scared to death. Who knows what his temper can do to him? He could snap my neck without even trying! So I just stare at hime, my body aching.

"Sorry..." he looks down, ashamed. "I felt like I was doing the right thing for her at the time, you know? She could be dying for all I know!" he whimpers. "I hate to say this, but she's never going to make it outta here breathing. I been tryin' to tell myself differnet, but I can't... She don't stand a chance..." the Thresh's head sinks to the ground, looking like a defeated animal.

"Thresh..." I say slowly, but than I see things falling from the sky. One is very tiny, and reflects the light of the sun, and the other is big, very big. Was this a gamemaker trap? Of cours it was! Everything here is a trap! These could be bombs falling from the sky! Or mutts!

I immedatly spring to my feet, my face tied in a knot from the severe pain in my stomach. I try to run, but it only mkes things hurt more. I stop, holding back a bucket load of tears, and turn around. Thresh just stands there! Does he WANT to get killed?

Then it happens. Both the items fall in front of him. I see clearly they are not bombs, but... Sonsor gifts? Why would someone give _us_ sponsor gifts. Well, I guess Thresh might win, but me?

There's a spiked club, tied to a paracute that they sent down. Since I won't een be able to lift it, it's definalty Thresh's. The other thing is a small glass vial of pale-blue cream. And there's a small note attached to it. Thresh's hand slowly moves for the note, and he picks it up, and looks at it. His face falls, but then he squints. He sighs and gives up as I sit down again, and he walks towards me and hands me the note.

"I ain't never to a school, so I can't read. Maybe you can read this."

I nod, as I slowly take the paper from him, my finger just touching something that pops up from the paper. I quickly turn it around, and see the symbol of the capitol. Next to it is another gold sticker, and it's a symbol of District 5. I got a sponsor gift.


End file.
